Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Two black holes 10 to 20 times heavier than Sun

IN THE
MILKY WAY , 2 BLACK HOLES AMID OLD STARS...

In an
unexpected finding, astronomers have discovered two dense black holes inside an
ancient cluster of stars in the Milky Way. The two black holes in the globular cluster
M22 are about 10 to 20 times heavier than Sun. Black holes, so dense that even light
can't escape them, are what is left when a massivestar reaches the end of its life
and collapses in on itself.

James
Miller Jones, from Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio
Astronomy Research (ICRAR), said the discovery of two black holes in same cluster
was a complete surprise. All the theory up to now says that should not happen in
the globular cluster that is 12 billion years old. The black holes, according to
Miler Jones, are the first to be found in globular cluster in our galaxy. M22 is
about 10,000 light years from Earth but can be seen clearly with a backyard telescope.
"M22 may contain as many as 100 black holes but we can't detect them unless
they are actively feeding on nearby stars," he said.